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209 results for “phenotypic selection”

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dryad36/100

Data and code from: Opposite, but insufficient, phenological responses to climate in two circumpolar seabirds: relative roles of phenotypic plasticity and selection

The magnitude of climate change has been greatest in the Arctic, accelerating climate-induced shifts in phenology, but wildlife responses vary. Variation may be due to the relative importance of phenotypic plasticity or phenotypic selection. Here, we examine and contrast the environmental drivers of plasticity in breeding phenology of two circumpolar seabirds at their receding summer range limit using unique datasets of marked individuals covering 25 and 30 years. Based on prior knowledge of the local ecosystems, we predicted that climate would generate opposing patterns of plasticity in the two populations. Laying phenology of kittiwakes in the Gulf of Alaska was associated with a large-scale climate oscillation (Pacific Decadal Oscillation) while the Arctic-breeding murres adjusted laying to sea-ice conditions. Kittiwakes laid earlier after experiencing colder climate about two years prior and laying dates did not advance over the study, but murres laid earlier when warmer climate led to earlier spring sea-ice break-up, and murre laying dates advanced by one week since 1990. Selection favoured earlier laying in both species. Both populations adjusted breeding phenology to environmental variation, but we anticipate opposing effects on phenology with continued climate change. Ice-constrained species can likely adapt to some extent because plasticity can provide the necessary shift to this physical barrier, although individuals were only able to adjust by ~one week while ice conditions advanced by over a month. In more temperate regions, where phenology is driven by bottom-up effects, plasticity and selection counteract one another leading to limited adaptability. We provide insights into the likely adjustments by Arctic marine animals to an increasingly warmer and ice-less summer.

opencc-zeroApr 2022View details →

dryad36/100

Data from: Hierarchical variation in phenotypic flexibility across timescales and associated survival selection shape the dynamics of partial seasonal migration

Population responses to environmental variation ultimately depend on within-individual and among-individual variation in labile phenotypic traits that affect fitness, and resulting episodes of selection. Yet, complex patterns of individual phenotypic variation arising within and between time periods, and associated variation in selection, have not been fully conceptualised or quantified. We highlight how structured patterns of phenotypic variation in dichotomous threshold traits can theoretically arise and experience varying forms of selection, shaping overall phenotypic dynamics. We then fit novel multistate models to ten years of band-resighting data from European shags to quantify phenotypic variation and selection in a key threshold trait underlying spatio-seasonal population dynamics: seasonal migration versus residence. First, we demonstrate substantial among-individual variation alongside substantial between-year individual repeatability in within-year phenotypic variation ('flexibility'), with weak sexual dimorphism. Second, we demonstrate that between-year individual variation in within-year phenotypes ('supraflexibility') is structured and directional, consistent with the threshold trait model. Third, we demonstrate strong survival selection on within-year phenotypes, and hence on flexibility, that varies across years and sexes, including episodes of disruptive selection representing costs of flexibility. By quantitatively combining these results, we show how supraflexibility and survival selection on migratory flexibility jointly shape population-wide phenotypic dynamics of seasonal movement.

opencc-zeroMay 2022View details →

dryad36/100

Stay in shape: assessing the adaptive potential of shell morphology and its sensitivity to temperature in the invasive New Zealand Mud Snail Potamopyrgus antipodarum through phenotypic plasticity and natural selection in Europe

Climate change may force organisms to adapt genetically or plastically to new environmental conditions. Invasive species show a remarkable potential for rapid adaptation. The ovoviviparous New Zealand mud snail (NZMS), Potamopyrgus antipodarum, has successfully established across Europe with two clonally reproducing mitochondrial lineages since its arrival in the first half of the 19th century. Its remarkable variation in shell morphology was shown to be fitness relevant. We investigated the effects of temperature on shell morphology across eleven populations from Germany and the Iberian Peninsula in a common garden across three temperatures. We analysed size and shape using geometric morphometrics. For both, we compared reaction norms and estimated heritabilities. For size, the interaction of temperature and haplotype explained about 50% of the total variance. We also observed more genotype by environment interactions indicating a higher degree of population differentiation than in shape. Across the three temperatures, size followed the expectations of the temperature-size rule, with individuals growing larger in cold environments. Changes in shape may have compensated changes in size affecting space for brooding embryos. Heritability estimates were relatively high. As indicated by the very low coefficients of variation for clonal repeatability (CVA), they can probably not be compared in absolute terms. However, they showed some sensitivity to temperature, in haplotype t more so than in z, which was only found in Portugal. The low CVA-values indicate that genetic variation among European populations is still restricted with low potential to react to selection. A considerable fraction of the genetic variation was due to differences between the clonal lineages. The NZMS has apparently not been long enough in Europe to accumulate significant genetic variation relevant for morphological adaptation. As temperature is obviously not the sole factor influencing shell morphology, their interaction will probably not be a factor limiting population persistence under a warming climate in Europe.

opencc-zeroAug 2022View details →

dryad36/100

Ecological determinants of variation in phenotypic selection on quantitative immune defence traits

Immune defence is an important determinant of organismal fitness. While theoretical models based on trade-offs in resource allocation predict quantitative immune traits to be subject to stabilizing selection due to associated energetic costs and self-harm, empirical studies report mainly positive directional selection. This discrepancy may arise from multiple ecological factors that vary in nature and could influence selection. We examined if selection on immune activity varies depending on immune challenge/infection risk, between immune traits, and among populations in the freshwater snail Lymnaea stagnalis. We assessed selection on the phenoloxidase-like and antibacterial activity of snail haemolymph while manipulating the level of immune challenge imposed by environmental microbes. We did this using snails from multiple populations and also quantified within-population family-level variation (i.e., evolutionary potential) in the snails' immune activity. We found that the strength of immune challenge and the examined immune trait determined selection on the snails' immune function. Thus, variation in infection risk can be an important factor in maintaining genetic variation in defence traits. Additionally, immune traits showed low among-population differentiation but high within-population genetic variation. This pattern could arise if natural snail populations are exposed to higher temporal than spatial variation in infection risk.

opencc-zeroOct 2022View details →

dryad36/100

Data and code for: Social phenotype-dependent selection of social environment in wild great and blue tits: An experimental study

There is growing evidence that individuals actively assess the match between their phenotype and their environment when making habitat choice decisions (so-called matching habitat choice). However, to our knowledge, no studies have considered how the social environment may interact with social phenotype in determining habitat choice, despite habitat choice being an inherently social process and growing evidence for individual variation in sociability. We conducted an experiment using wild great and blue tits to understand how birds integrate their social phenotype and social environment when choosing where and how to feed. We used programmable feeders to (i) record social interactions and estimate social phenotype and (ii) experimentally manipulate the local density experienced by birds of differing social phenotype. By tracking feeder usage, we estimated how social environment and social phenotype predicted feeder choice and feeding behaviour. Both social environment and social phenotype predicted feeder usage, but a bird's decision to remain in a particular social environment did not depend on their social phenotype. In contrast, for feeding behaviour, responses to the social environment depended on social phenotype. Our results provide rare evidence of matching habitat choice and shed light on the dependence of habitat choice on between-individual differences in social phenotype.

opencc-zeroOct 2022View details →

dryad36/100

Data from: Phenotypic selection on an ornamental trait is not modulated by breeding density in a pied flycatcher population

Most studies of phenotypic selection in the wild have focused on morphological and life-history traits and looked at abiotic (climatic) variation as the main driver of selection. Consequently, our knowledge of the effects of biotic environmental variation on phenotypic selection on sexual traits is scarce. Population density can be considered a proxy for the intensity of intra- and inter-sexual competition and could therefore be a key factor influencing the covariation between individual fitness and the expression of sexual traits. Here, we used an individual-based data set from a population of pied flycatchers (Ficedula hypoleuca) monitored over 24 years to analyse the effect of breeding density on phenotypic selection on dorsal plumage colouration, a heritable and sexually selected ornament in males of this species. Using the number of recruits as a fitness proxy, our results show overall stabilizing selection on male dorsal colouration, with intermediate phenotypes being favoured over extremely dark and dull individuals. However, our results did not support the hypothesis that breeding density mediates phenotypic selection on this sexual trait. We discuss the possible role of other biotic factors influencing selection on ornamental plumage.

opencc-zeroJul 2024View details →

dryad36/100

Genome-phenotype-environment associations identify signatures of selection in a panmictic population of threespine stickleback

Adaptive genetic divergence occurs when selection imposed by the environment causes the genomic component of the phenotype to differentiate. However, genomic signatures of natural selection are usually identified without information on which trait is responding to selection by which selective agent(s). Here we integrate whole-genome-sequencing with phenomics and measures of putative selective agents to assess the extent of adaptive divergence in threespine stickleback occupying the highly heterogeneous lake Mývatn, NE Iceland. We find negligible genome-wide divergence, yet multiple traits (body size, gill raker structure and defence traits) were divergent along known ecological gradients (temperature, predatory bird densities and water depth). SNP-based heritability of all measured traits was high (h2 = 0.42 – 0.65), indicating adaptive potential for all traits. Whilst environment-association analyses identified thousands of loci putatively involved in selection, related to genes linked to neuron development and protein phosphorylation, only loci linked to pelvic spine length were concurrently linked to environmental variation (water depth) – supporting the conclusion that divergence in pelvic spine length occurred in face of gene flow. Our results suggest that whilst there is substantial genetic variation in the traits measured, phenotypic divergence of Mývatn stickleback is mostly weakly associated with environmental gradients, potentially as a result of substantial gene flow. Our study illustrates the value of integrative studies that combine genomic assays of multivariate trait variation with landscape genomics.

opencc-zeroJan 2023View details →

dryad36/100

Extreme events, trophic chain reactions, and shifts in phenotypic selection

Demographic consequences of rapid environmental change and extreme climatic events (ECEs) can cascade across trophic levels with evolutionary implications that have rarely been explored. Here, we show how an ECE in high Arctic Svalbard triggered a trophic chain reaction, directly or indirectly affecting the demography of both overwintering and migratory vertebrates, ultimately inducing a shift in density-dependent phenotypic selection in migratory geese. A record-breaking rain-on-snow event and ice-locked pastures led to reindeer mass starvation and a population crash, followed by a period of low mortality and population recovery. This caused lagged, long-lasting reductions in reindeer carrion numbers and resultant low abundances of Arctic foxes, a scavenger on reindeer and predator of migratory birds. The associated decrease in Arctic fox predation of goose offspring allowed for a rapid increase in barnacle goose densities. As expected according to r- and K-selection theory, the goose body condition (affecting reproduction and post-fledging survival) maximising Malthusian fitness increased with this shift in population density. Thus, the winter ECE acting on reindeer and their scavenger, the Arctic fox, indirectly selected for higher body condition in migratory geese. This high Arctic study provides rare empirical evidence of links between ECEs, community dynamics and evolution, with implications for our understanding of indirect eco-evolutionary impacts of global change.

opencc-zeroSep 2023View details →

dryad36/100

Sexes in sync: phenotypic plasticity, sexual selection, and phenological synchrony between the sexes in a wild hibernator

Desynchrony of phenological responses to climate change is a major concern in ecological communities. Potential uncoupling between one of the most fundamental divisions within populations, males and females, has not been well studied. To address this gap, we examined sex-specific plasticity in hibernation phenology in two populations of Columbian ground squirrels (Urocitellus columbianus). We find that both sexes display similar phenological plasticity to spring snowmelt dates in their timing of torpor termination and behavioural emergence from hibernation. As a result of this plasticity, the degree of protandry (i.e., males' emergences from hibernation preceding those of females) did not change significantly over the 27-year study. Earlier male behavioural emergence, relative to females, improved the likelihood of securing a breeding territory and increased annual reproductive success. Sexual selection favouring earlier male emergence from hibernation may maintain protandry in this population but did not contribute to further advances in male phenology. Older males also tended to emerge earlier and secure territories, and so it is unclear whether selection acts indirectly through age. Together, our results provide evidence that the sexes should remain synchronised, at least in response to the weather variation investigated here, and further support the role of sexual selection in the evolution of protandry in sexually reproducing organisms.

opencc-zeroOct 2023View details →

dryad36/100